Motivation

You‘ve been at the officesince 5:30 a.m., but still have things to get done before you can head home. The problem is, you’ve worked seven days straight. No weekend break. You feel worn out, to the point that even carrying your car keys might prove a challenge when you finally turn out the lights.

Your spouse calls to see when you’re coming home, and you complain to her wearily, “I can’t do this anymore.” …

How many times have you been asked that question in job interviews over the years? And how many times have you made the following claim?

“I’m a hardworking multitasker.”

It’s understandable. Being a good multitasker is a sign that you’re productive, right?

Not necessarily.

There are a lot of aspects of productivity that we take for granted because we have been told over and over that they’re valid. But the truth may surprise you. For example, does being a good multitasker really mean you’re more productive than your single-tasking coworkers?

Productivity is a bit of an obsession for me. I’m alwaystrying to streamline my time and get more done. Sometimes, it feels as if I spend more time trying to be productive than I do actually being productive.

Everyone goes through that.

I started to wonder what other people do to get around that — people who seem to squeeze every drop of productivity from their day. I decided to do some research, and picked up a lot of great tips and tricks I never would have thought of.

I don’t know about you, but I’m at my best in the morning. Yes, I’m still yawning, rubbing sleep out of my eyes and trying to clear my head.

But in some ways, that’s a good thing.

I haven’t yet started mulling over all the problems and complications in my life. My mind is a clean slate, and that means I can focus on my work. I usually get more done in the first couple hours of my workday than I do the rest of the day, much of it before I even eat breakfast!

Get into the habit of waking up early and you’ll be more productive, more energized and more grounded for the rest of your day.

The result?

You’ll end up getting more things done earlier. And that means you can spend more time doing the things you love rather than the things you have to do.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Today, we’re going to dig deeply into an area of productivity that proves challenging for a lot of folks: waking up early. You can probably relate if you’re a night owl. It’s not easy to change your sleep patterns and become …